Summer Brewery Tours

Ignazio's Pizza

I'm going to back track a little since I forgot to blog about the FAB Brooklyn pizza I enjoyed while in New York. Obviously being from Philadelphia, I know good pizza and have had some really great pizza while going to graduate school in Manhattan. That being said, I was pretty excited to try some Brooklyn-style pizza for the first time.  

Before walking over the Brooklyn Bridge, my friend Chris and I lunched on a fabulous pie at Ignazio's. Just around the corner from the famous "Under the Brooklyn Bridge" Grimaldi's and a lot less crowded, it was the perfect spot before our short trek over the East River. We enjoyed "The Pizza" with half roasted red peppers and one of my favorite parts, beside the delicious pie, was the cool metal glasses and old fashioned Diet Coke bottles they used for drinks. 

Brooklyn Brewery

After walking over the Brooklyn Bridge and since we were in Brooklyn, we decided to hit up what else, but the Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg. Yes, I used the word Brooklyn three times in that sentence, which is a total pet peeve of mine!

The tasting area was pretty hoppin' with all of the tables filled. While enjoying a cold beverage, we caught the last tour of the day to learn about the history of the small brewery. I thought it was really neat and courageous that an Associated Press correspondent - Steve Hindy - and banker - Tom Potter - decided to quit their careers and open this brewery back in the late 80s. I think they must have really LOVED beer!And, it obviously worked out since the brewery is currently one of America's top 40 breweries. The Brooklyn lager soon became one of my favorites back home in Philly.

They ran out of Summer Ale, I was extremely upset! I settled for the Pale Ale instead.

I loved the "B" on the exterior facade!

BREWED AND BOTTLED IN THE

CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE

The Brooklyn Brewery tour was relatively short compared to the Yards Brewing Company, 901 N. Delaware Avenue, tour a few weeks later. Also jam packed, I was excited to tour the facility and learn about the space's short history, how to make beer and little did I know, even enter the cooler area. Although it was a super hot day and the brewing area was quite warm, I felt like I learned a lot about how to brew beer (although I've never done it before!) and how they bottle beer. One fun fact: Beer is actually made cold and then shipped so unless it undergoes extreme temperatures, it will not skunk. The beers the three of us tasted included the Brawler, Philadelphia Pale Ale and the hot Love Stout, which is seductively smooth!

Until my next brewery tour...

Brooklyn Bound

In trying to keep up with my posts, which are always very behind, I decided to compile more recent events since I remember them more clearly. Maybe I'm just getting old. That being said, let's continue with my mini-vacation to New York, which also included a trip to Brooklyn. Ever since the Sex and the City episode when Miranda and Steve met in the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge, I have always wanted to walk over. The day following the Yankee game rain delay turned out to be warm and beautiful, which was perfect!

I should start off by saying I'm not the best with heights, but since I trekked over the Golden Gate last summer, which is almost two miles and decidely longer, the Brooklyn Bridge was not a problem. In fact, both bridges (and Philly's Walt Whitman and Ben Franklin Bridges) are on the list for longest suspension bridges. Currently, the longest suspension bridge is in Japan.

The walkway in between and above the traffic made the walk seem less daunting. And, since the bridge is currently being rehabilitated, most of the interior walkway was enclosed, which somehow made me feel safer. Part of the NY skyline since 1883, the first steel-wire suspension bridge spanning the East River was deemed a national historic landmark in 1964. Many of the photos taken are of the Manhattan Bridge just across the river. I hope you enjoy the photos and view as much as I did!

Now I just need to walk over the Ben Franklin Bridge since I drive over it almost every day!

"Let's Here It for New York!"

I LOVE New York!

Ever since I first visited my sister-in-law's parent's apartment complex in the Bronx and drove by Yankee Stadium when I was just a teen and then acted as a total tourist during a college trip over ten years ago, I've been in love. It's one of the reasons why I went there for graduate school in addition to the fact that it's a huge media hub, obviously.

For all of those concerned, it does come second to Philly, of course, because that's where I'm from and the city I know better than any other. But, still, NY holds a special place in my heart - there's so much to see, so much to do, and it's just amazing. 

Anyway, this past summer, I had the chance to visit both Citi Field - for a Phillies/Mets game - and Yankee Stadium. I love visiting ballparks and it was a first time at both venues for me - I did see a game at the old Yankee Stadium back in 2004. I, unfortunately, forgot my camera when going to Citi Field, so I only have a picture of the exterior.

One of my favorite aspects of this park, which opened in 2009, was Shea Bridge because it essentially combined the old with the new. Something else I liked about Citi Field was how close I felt to the field even if our seats weren't. Apparently, according to the Citi Field Overview, this is a fan enhancement feature of the park - seats are set closer to the field. For more images of the field, click here!  Unfortunately, my Phillies lost that day, but took home a couple wins during the following two games.

During this short, 24-hour July trip, I also had the opportunity to experience the village of Rockville Centre, NY. It was such a cute, little town with lots of shops and eateries and I would recommend a visit - just a 40 minute ride from Penn Station, it undoubtedly has a completely different feel from Manhattan. This Nassau County suburb is a great place to live.

New York, Part Two

My end of July trip up north could be called a mini-vacation - it definitely included more activities than the first short-lived venture. And, one of those activities was hitting the beach - Long Beach - for some surf and sun even though the sun didn't really want to make an appearance. The overcast, relaxing afternoon was a nice change of pace from work. But, you know what they say about overcast - the sun is stronger and you often don't realize you're getting burnt, which we didn't! Ah!

I loved this sign. Why? I don't know. I think it was because it said "bathing" instead of "swimming."

The beach. After some photoshop magic, this picture doesn't look as ominous as it originally did on my screen.

Later that night took us to Yankee Stadium, which also opened in 2009, where they were playing the Orioles. A rain delay gave us some time to tour the park and the Yankee museum.  

   

How I disliked taking this picture!

I thought back to being at Citizens Bank Park for one of the World Series games and was totally wishing and cheering my hometown Phils on for a repeat that year!

Nonetheless, this is my very delayed congratulations.

Some of the Yankees' greatest players...black and white (old school) and full color below! 

Autographed baseballs in the museum.  

I bought a Joe DiMaggio (I had to support a legend like Joe!) shirt earlier that day. And, a highlight of that purchase was a random man at a bar in Astoria telling me my dad was probably with me when I bought the shirt because I chose DiMaggio. Strange yet funny!

**Side note: Writing this made me think back to the Phillies/Yankees game in Clearwater this past March. A man resembling DiMaggio was dressed in a full uniform with a Marilyn Monroe cutout outside Bright House Field. Hm, maybe that's why I chose him or maybe it was just because he was truly a legend! 

Rain Delay

Although it may be strange, I kind of like when they squeegee the field. I think I like the logistics of it, how they have such extensive drainage underground - it's kind of neat.  

#25 Mark Teixeira 

So, the Yankees ended up losing that night by two runs. With both teams I was cheering on losing (Phils and Yanks), I started to become nervous and possibly started to think maybe I was bad luck especially since they won the next day by lots of runs!

No sweat, I attended another Phillies game - at home in August - and they won! Woohoo!

Anyway, until next time, New York...xoxo!